Math

Russell Hill honored in education Laguna Beach resident Russell Hill recently received the Middle School Advisor of the Year Award from Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement, a nationally recognized math and science program. Hill, who teaches sixth-grade math and science at Raymond Villa Fundamental Intermediate School located in Santa Ana, has been a MESA advisor for eight years, and was honored for his outstanding work in assisting educationally disadvantaged students to excel in math and science, who are served by the Chapman University MESA center.

More than 95% of Laguna Beach High School sophomores passed the statewide high school exit exam last year, according to data released Aug. 22. On the math section of the California High School Exit Exam, or CAHSEE, only 10 of 262 students tested did not pass, which is a passing rate of 96%, according to state records. In English-language arts, 98% of students passed, with only six students failing. Laguna Beach students rank 8% higher in math and 10% higher in English-language arts compared with the rest of the county, according to records.

Torrey AndersonSchoepe The Laguna Beach Unified School District has the highest pass rate for the California high school exit exam of any district in the county. The statewide scores were released by the California Department of Education on Monday. The high school classes of 2006 and 2007 scored among the highest of all schools taking the exam. Starting with the class of 2006, California public school students have been required to take the exit exam in their sophomore year.

No matter what demands are made, no matter how much funding is taken away, the students and teachers in Laguna Beach never cease to shine -- at least most of the time. School testing scores surprised administrators who thought a new math program and more rigorous English curriculum would pump up the points. Instead, there were some drops in standardized testing scores in the lower grades. At El Morro Elementary School, the percentage of third-graders hitting the state target in English testing fell 13 points to 51%. At Top of the World, that number dropped 22 points to 50%. Fortunately, math scores at the schools did jump up. Whatever the cause for the decline, administrators are on it and aren't taking it lightly.

The Oxford Dictionary defines philanthropy as love of mankind, practical sympathy and benevolence. Laguna is loaded with philanthropists who devote time to helping the poor and the troubled. Janice and Ted Smith were honored recently with the Orange County Spirit of Philanthropy Lifetime Achievement Award. "We were totally surprised," Ted Smith said. "We didn't appreciate how widely supported this program is. I was amazed. There were 1,100 people at the luncheon." The Smiths were recognized for their donations of time and money to UC Irvine, the Segerstrom Concert Hall and the MIND Institute, founded by the late Gordon Shaw of Laguna Beach.

A collection of K-12 mathematics textbooks and instructional materials are currently on display for public review until May 17 at the Laguna Beach Unified School District's Administrative Office. "This is a unified, comprehensive K-12 program that will align our schools with state standards," said Steven Keller, assistant superintendent. The Board of Education will review the proposed mathematics program at a future meeting. If approved, all math teachers will undergo training to use the books and supplemental materials before the program is started in fall 2002.

Andrew Edwards The results of standardized tests scores released Monday showed that while Laguna Beach students' scores showed some declines, local students fare well when compared to others in the county and the state. "The moral of the story is, I think, statewide, we were surprised by some of the declines," said Assistant Supt. Steven Keller. The district expected to see a bounce in scores this year, a new math program was started in the 2002-03 school year and last September the district initiated a new English curriculum.

The Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot went to Top of the World Elementary School and asked second-grade students in Linda Barker's class: 'What do you like about math?' "Hard problems, I like to figure them out. I don't like easy ones because I go through it so fast." MAKENZIE FISCHER, 7 "I like learning addition because you don't have to take anything away; you just put more numbers into it." COLE ZARINELLI, 8 "Square roots, my mom's teaching me."

Laguna Beach Unified School District's Academic Performance Index (API) scores improved nine points to 904 this year over last, according to results released Wednesday. Thurston Middle School saw the most growth, going from 906 in 2010 to 934 in 2011. El Morro Elementary School was the only site that logged a decline, dropping from 903 to 893. According to the state's website, the statewide API target for all schools is 800, which LBUSD surpassed by 104 points overall.